Harv Frost
Inspired by the MediaMagazine Conference, I then decided to research more into Harv Frost.
Harv Frost is a prominent scholar in media and cultural studies, best known for her directing of the 15-minute short film/music video by The Last Dinner Party, called ‘Prelude to Ecstasy’.
Harv’s work delves into the intersections of representation, power, and identity. She also focuses on providing representations for marginalised voices and addresses key issues in the digital age, including diversity, and activism.
https://www.kodemedia.com/news/view/lbb-harv-frost-is-here-queer-and-taking-on-the-directing-scene-by-storm
To begin, one of her main research areas is ‘Representation and Power’. Frost analyses how race, gender, and class are represented in different forms of media, calling for structural change. As a trans filmmaker, her unique perspective influences her creative expression.
https://lbbonline.com/news/harv-frost-is-here-queer-and-taking-on-the-directing-scene-by-storm
She also researches into ‘Digital Media Ecosystems’, exploring how algorithms prioritise content, shaping cultural norms and bias and the relationships between audiences and creators and a cornerstone of her research is ‘Youth Culture and Media’ – focusing on how media platforms cater to, and exploit young audiences. She researches into youth rebellion and self-expression.
Harv Frost also wrote a book in 2018, called, ‘The Representation Gap’, critically examining the persistent lack of diversity in mainstream media. She argues that that “Representation is more than a seat at the table – it’s about rewriting the menu.” In her book, ‘Social Media, Social Selves’ (2021), she investigates the dual nature of social media as a space for empowerment and exploitation. Her most recent work, written in 2022, ‘Youth in the Frame: Media, Power, and Young People’ explores the effect of social media on youth culture over the decades.
Her work often reflects the pressing social and cultural issues of our time, for example, her study on the film industry revealed that only 20% of lead roles in major films are played by actors from underrepresented backgrounds… She has also said, in his book, ‘Social Media, Social Selves’, that “Social media promised liberation but delivered commodification”.
For my NEA, I am considering doing a music video.
Frosts work has heavily inspired me to further research into the commodification of self-expression in the digital age. I also really like his free-spirited approach to directing and how he effectively adapts his ideas and keeps an open mind – an approach I hope to successfully inherit from his work.
MediaMagazine Conference – 24.1.25
On Friday 25th of January, many keen A-Level Media and Film students immersed themselves into the world of media at the BFI’s MediaMagazine Conference, located at London’s Southbank.
Situated just a 5-minute walk from Waterloo station, the BFI is renowned as “one of the crown jewels of the London film scene”. Though easily reachable from Waterloo, the venue is well-connected to other areas of London, offering multiple routes for attendees, in particular A-Level Media and Film students, to get there.
Students were welcomed with a choice of free MediaMagazine’s to choose from, including the popular Issue 86 featuring Barbie and questions of feminism around the movie.
The Conference opened with an insightful talk from Chris Hogg. Chris Hogg currently teaches Creativity, Entrepreneurship and Digital Marketing at Royal Holloway and is an award-winning playwright, digital instructional designer and digital marketing consultant.
Chris Hogg successfully captivated us, as the students, and invited us into an inspiring talk about AI and Creativity, “magic and loss of AI” and “DALI to DALL-E”. He explained to us an encounter he had with 4 students whilst presenting a lecture about AI where he was abruptly told to stop as the students felt “disheartened” to understand that AI could “effortlessly outperform them at the blink of an eye.”. This moment ultimately stuck with him and led him questioning the use of AI and reaching out to cultural theorists for help on their perception of AI, in hope to comfort his students and their concerns of AI in the creative industry.
He first examined Roland Barthes – Camera Lucida 1980 and concluded that “maybe what happens on a stage is the land of the dead and the audience is the land of the living”. He then compared Salvador Dalis’ performance with flamenco musicians to DALL-E’s (Open AI) modern ‘version’. Hogg concluded that Dali wanted to paint, whereas DALL-E was a slave to the prompt to paint - providing a reassuring outlook that “true creativity goes into the world and has a life”, and ultimately “AI will only give you the average”! The 30 second delay while AI is creating the outcome of the prompt is a constant reminder that ‘it isn’t reality”. He then spoke to Ali Eslami that provided him an “unsatisfying tech answer”, but Dr Takeo Higuchi dramatically changed his outlook on the power of our own minds. Dr Higuchi has created “a map of his brain” and has filled more than 400 notebooks with his ideas. He has calculated that his millionth idea will be on his 104th birthday and encouraged Hogg to “control AI like a bunch of sheep” and ensure to use our own brains power as a priority to “brighten creativity everyday”. Finally, he turned to Marshal McLuhan’s theory to use AI to “enhance, cancel, bring back, flip out”, helping his students navigate AI’s possibilities and pitfalls. As a final point, he encouraged us to “become what we want to become” and that he believes that AI can elevate human creativity, while remaining conscious of what it risks diminishing.
Alison Phillips in conversation of April McCarthy was yet another informative and inspiring talk that we could fully immerse ourselves into to deepen our understanding of the media, specifically print and online news. Allison Phillips served as the first female editor since 1903 for the Daily Mirror between 2018 and 2024. One of the Daily Mirrors front covers and articles is part of A-Level Media, providing a great opportunity for audience interactions and questions to deeper understanding before the exam and to also hear Alisons perspective on the specific front cover and article from being the editor at the time of publication – what an opportunity!
Phillips highlighted how the composition of creating a tabloid newspaper was “subconscious and instinctive” and clearly highlighted the importance of recognising “amplified polarisation” and to “read news within the context” - for example to be aware of the paper’s political bias, (e.g. The Daily Mirrors political bias is left wing). Alison also made interesting points on how buying newspapers used to be an “identity” and due to this, readers would typically stay loyal to one specific paper, contrasting to recently, where because of the immense amount of news available online, naturally, we can “pick and choose” what we read, and where we read it from. She also revealed that the “key to success is authenticity” and to be successful in the “competitive” industry you must “be curious”, “be interested” and “subvert your own self … find out truths for the wider world”. She also expressed that a “major concern is an educated, informed elite that buy news, and uniformed masses who hear random news”, strengthening her belief that we have a ‘responsibility to be informed”. Phillips also recognised that “we are all pawns in their (tech companies) game” and that Musk promotes by algorithms, making Rupert Murdoch look like a “kid in the playground”! Finally, she touched on the future of newspapers, believing that we will seek a “digital detox”, resulting in newspapers becoming a “weekend product” that we will consume when we have time. Alison recognises that the “media is all about entertainment”, but due to online media, there is so much entertainment, making it harder for papers to differentiate and ensure loyalty.
After a 10 minute ‘Comfort Break’, award-winning writer, author and editor with work published in Vogue, the Guardian, GQ and more, Hannah Ewens, gave an insightful talk about her interest and research of fandoms, leading to her successful published book ‘Fangirls’ in 2019.
She began by describing fandom as “a hierarchy”, with “fans with money at the top of the hierarchy” followed by fans who make their way to the top, for example by being at the front of the queue, followed by the “self-policing” fans that stop people from queue jumping. Ewens highlighted the “sense of proper community” that she began to understand while talking to the fangirls and began to view them as “more interesting” than the celebrities than fans were waiting to see. Hannah Ewens has interviewed celebrities including, Lana Del Ray, Billie Eilish and Charli XCX but has gradually become more aware that fandoms aren’t just between the artist and the fan anymore, and the “new circuity of fandom” is between the artist, the fandom, the fan and the online audience leading to “less idol worship” and a view that “fans aren’t really an artist’s family anymore”.
Harv Frost was our next speaker who fully captivated us with his immense talent and passion in directing music videos.
He explained his pathway and determination for success within the industry and importance to “create worlds within the sound” to helps fans become “fully immersed” with the media they are consuming. We then watched the 15-minute short film/music video by The Last Dinner Party, called ‘Prelude to Ecstasy’ that he directed… WOW! The video is a five-act format, shot on 16mm film, giving it a timeless, yet nostalgic quality. To support this, the carefully curated retro influences and modern themes allow the video to be nostalgic, yet also forward thinking, creating a daring piece of media that redefines what a musical video can be. Harv explained that he ‘found” his “voice” and “style” over the years and this video was a brilliant opportunity to truly find his niche in directing and methods to differentiate his directing to others. He also made clear the importance to him of working with his clients to create a successful video but also successful clientele.
After lunch, we then had our final 2 speakers… our penultimate speaker was David Hesmondhalgh in conversation with Anamik Saha. Together, they covered a wide range of media including, The Daily Mail and Mail Online, Barbenheimer, Hip-Hop, Beast Games, Traitors and Squid Game.
Hesmondhalgh is a key theorist in Media Studies, often studied at A-Level. His work focuses on the cultural industries and how they operate. David viewed The Daily Mail and Mail Online as “the most troubling” out of the form of media they were mentioning, and how they “make profit by trying to generate fear”. He raised the importance of understanding the “culture of the journalist”, not just about who owns it. Hesmondhalgh views Barbie as a “dramatized relationship with childhood” and a clever adaptation of “intellectual property” from a classic Barbie doll. He finds it important that the movie was able to generate money, whilst also creating immense meaning. David also has a passion for music, his favourite genre is Hip-Hop, and favourite singers include Little Simz and Kendrick Lamar. His outlook on Hip-Hop as “cultural imperialism” by beginning in America and then “exerting its cultural influence on the world” displays its immense power within the music industry as a genre made of “cultural traditions”. He also explained the clever way Beast Games “raises the shock level more and more” to generate popularity, allowing it to reach “number 1 on Prime Video in 80 countries” by “portraying everyone as greedy immoral”. This contrasts, in his opinion, to Traitors, that he believes “does the same in a more warmer, human show in about distrusting each other”, and in Squid Game he emphasises how “culture always dominates”.
Our final speaker was Nida Manzoor with Christian Cottingham. Nida Manzoor studied politics at UCL but eventually shifter her focus to filmmaking.
She views comedy as her “best vehicle” and believes that “the only way to write freely is to not be burdened by other things”. Nida is best known for creating the Channel 4/Peacock comedy series ‘We Are Lady Parts’ and debut feature film ‘Polite Society’ released in 2023. Awards she has won include the 2022 BAFTA for TV and Comedy Screenwriting for ‘We Are Lady Parts’ and the 2023 British Independent Film Award for Debut Screenwriting for ‘Polite Society’. She said that ‘Polite Society’ was a way to “bring all the things I love together” and found it “extra exciting” to centre her work around London, as “London is home”. We watched a clip from both ‘We Are Lady Parts’ and ‘Polite Society’ and she explained that she can “only speak the truth that I (she) know(s)”, creating a way to closely resonate with her work and ensure authenticity.
To conclude, the MediaMagazine Conference offered an invaluable opportunity to deepen understanding of media, emphasising the importance of staying engaged with contemporary media issues and the power of media shaping society. It was truly an eye-opening, thought-provoking day me, and many other passionate A-Level students are now equipped with for our future studies and an amazing opportunity to interact with experts in the field.
I, Daniel Blake Film Review
I, Daniel Blake is a 1 hour and 40 minute movie that explores the lives of the under-represented in an emotional narrative. Daniel Blake was a carpenter until he suffered a heart attack, leaving him jobless and in crucial demand of his benefits and hope to be employed again. Throughout the movie he connects with a single mother of two, Katie, that has been moved from London to Newcastle (the location of the movie) and together they navigate through the struggles of poverty and effectively display 'real issues' - reflecting the social realism the movie is admired for. The Director, Ken Loach is a prominent British film director known for this politically charged, socially conscious films and I, Daniel Blake has become one of his most acclaimed works. The films social realism is further endorsed through the casts abundance of improvisation and lack of fame before their roles - creating an authentic movie that can truly pull on your heart strings! Furthermore, I, Daniel Blake effectively reflects social, cultural and economic cultures, allowing the film to relate to a large target audience and connect with them through this. The verite film is further supported through the 'show not tell' attitude, encouraging us as the audience to think deeper about the films plot. If you are looking of a very much 'real' film, with 'real' struggles and 'real' acting... I, Daniel Blake should be at the top go your watchlist - just remember to keep some tissues in your pocket!
Infographic about The Big Issue
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Shelter Youtube Advert - World of Our Own - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGIYzugykGAThis film clip is about the younger generation and how they are affected with homelessness and/or a lack of housing security.
The clip begins 'on another planet' - where a girl and her dad are astronauts, exploring the unknown. Together, they see Santa and friendly Aliens - constructs that are dreamed of when you are a child, making the advert seem extremely peaceful, playful and happy.
Though, this care-free, utopian setting is then disturbed by the 'reality' - as we then see a male and a woman (who we can infer are related to the girl) arguing and showing their displeasure to their living situation - "I can't take this anymore! It's been 2 years".
We then see the full reality, where the girl is now in her (inferred) bedroom with her father, surrounded by bags, mould on walls, and wearing a cardboard box - cut out like an astronauts helmet. She looks extremely scared, but comforted by her father and encouraged to carry on imagining.
The daughter and father then go back to the 'planet' and see a comet, and then the clip ends with an emotive, thought provoking statement - "Love alone can't protect a child from homelessness But your donations could help".
I understood that perhaps the comet is used to act as a 'shooting star' - and that star carries a wish... a wish for donations and a better living state for the little girl - what is personally, very emotional to understand as the audience.
To end, Shelters brand logo is used and they also use a statistic - "A record 15,000 children homeless" - clearly displaying the magnitude of the issue, reinforcing the serious tone of the adverts 'reality'.
I chose this clip as I believe it challenges traditional stereotypes of the homeless being middle aged males with addictions. To advertise a childs perspective of homelessness, their helplessness and still very innocent mind (that still believes in Santa and Aliens), is very emotive and thereby extremely effective to Shelters charity.
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Media Theory for A Level
Theory Definition:
- After some reading, please see below one particular point that interested me...
Focusing on Stuart Hall, he carefully highlights that people can also 'misread' a product.
Stuart Hall explains that this could be due to:
1) Overly Complex Narratives
eg. surrealist narratives eg. Alice in Wonderland, might be difficult for an audience to follow or decode a product successfully.
2) Ideas Are Too Alien
eg. if the nature of the content falls beyond the audiences everyday experiences
eg. a news story about migration from a country that is at war may be removed from the audiences typical, everyday experiences - so unable to fully comprehend the full intended meaning of the story.
3) Language Cannot Be Decoded
eg. if they have been encoded using a foreign language or use vocabulary that is too complex for the reader.
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Summarised Article – I Want to Fit in! The Rise of #LiterallyMe, by Hannah Pettit
The concept of ‘literally me’, has increasingly became apparent recently, where a certain cohort of particularly young men on social media openly idolise characters from films.
The ‘literally me’ trend began back in 2018, when a Facebook user posted a meme depicting a male teenager sitting in front of a laptop comparing himself to five actors smoking cigarettes, including Al Pacino in Scarface(1983), Keanu Reeves in Constantine (2005) and Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca (1942).
Within two years, the post received more than 2,900 shares, 540 reactions and 250 comments and soon spread to multiple social media platforms resulting in users comparing themselves to characters in TV and video games, but most popular movie characters.
The average male ‘literally me’ character is disconnected from society, struggles from mental health and emotions, and is unable to fit in.
Common characters include:
o Patrick Bateman from American Psycho (2000)
o Tyler Durden from Fight Club (1999)
o Office K from Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
And many more…
Due to the similar traits, including being lonely social rejects who share dissatisfaction with the world and act on it and rebel against society due to their poor treatment - they are memorable, complex characters.
To a less radical extent, female ‘literally me’ equivalents also exist, typically they dress alternatively, suffer traumatic experiences and isolate themselves from others.
Common characters include:
o Jo March from Little Women (2019)
o Amy Dunne from Gone Girl (2014)
o Nina Sayers from Black Swan (2010)
And many more…
These male and female characters all embody ‘doomer’ culture, which exposes an extremely pessimistic and nihilistic outlook on life and deep concerns for global issues.
The deeper meaning behind ‘literally me’ arguably could be that it is a way for those to cope and feel see themselves reflected in a character for comfort and reassurance. But the result is a vicious cycle, as this unhealthy approach results in a swarming mass of toxicity, misogyny and general hatred. These ‘sigma males’ go on to form hate groups and cults rooted to these radical characters.
George Gerbner’s studies reveals that while television might not cause a certain behaviour, over time it can significantly alter viewers perceptions of the world. There is not enough concrete evidence of the degree to which peoples identities are altered and it is highly likely that some of these people sharing ‘literally me’ content do not particularly identify with the characters but instead find the meme funny and ironic but in all jokes, there is an element of truth and it is alarming to consider that to some extent that some of these characters are so deeply admired that their behaviours are being replicated.
In conclusion, while no one is perfect, flawed protagonists who grapple with societal expectations are often easier to relate to.
Unlike idealised heroes, e.g. Captain America, characters deemed ‘literally me’ resonate because their imperfections feel authentic.
Though some may view this identification as misguided or controversial, the comfort these characters provide clearly speaks to many today’s society.
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